


Two Broken Wings

by glitteringeva



Category: RWBY
Genre: ALL THE ANGST, Angst, Canon Typical Violence, F/M, I'll put a warning on that chapter, No Gore, Post canon, ignores everything after volume 4, some people have died, something others would tag as ptsd but i am very careful with those terms, suicide mention later on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-09-01
Packaged: 2018-12-15 16:47:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11810109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitteringeva/pseuds/glitteringeva
Summary: Two years after the final battle against Salem Yang still deals with the aftermath. The only person she still lets into her life is Mercury who she doesn't date but somehow dates, but they both refuse to define their relationship any further. But soon enough things happen that force Yang to face her past, take action and finally deal with what happened to her mother.





	1. Chapter 1

Despite Oliver’s promises to take care of the issue the store was freezing cold. Yang went through the pile of books the customer had picked and asked herself how on earth anyone could read that much. He was a shy guy, always going through the shelves for at least half an hour before he paid, staring at her when he thought she wasn’t seeing it, but never talking to her.

“Nice weather today”, he said.

She looked up. Oh, he was feeling bolt today. “Yeah”, she said without looking at him and typed in the price of the next book.

“Grimm attack?”

She froze, just for a moment, before she caught herself and kept going. “What?”

“Your arm.”

Oh, yeah. Shy guy was also good at chosing the worst possible pick up lines. She looked up and he pointed at her right arm, or rather the lack of it. “What about it?” Her voice was almost as cold as the store.

“I mean… did you lose it in a Grimm attack? A lot of people did, I guess. I still remember the fall of Beacon, I watched it all on TV. Horrible. I’m so glad the rebuilt the school. My co-worker lost his aunt that night.”

She typed in the price of the last book and decided she really, really hated this guy. “Do you want a bag?”

He blushed and avoided her angry glare. “No, thank you.”

“Twenty-four lien.”

He paid without a word and Yang felt like he must hear her heart beating, way too fast. She forced herself to take a deep breath while adrenaline shot through her veins and her throat clenched. _Fuck_. She didn’t need this right now, she really didn’t. “Car accident”, she said eventually, forced herself to look at him.

“They have amazing prosthetics these days.”

“They’re expensive.” It was the easier explanation. The real one was far too complicated, and far longer than she intended this conversation to last. “Have a nice day.”

He looked like he wanted to say something, but Yang quickly turned away and rearranged a pile of old romance novels an old lady had sold them earlier today. Shy guy got the message and left.

Yang leaned her forehead against the wall and forced herself to take deep breaths. She felt like she could feel the cold metal of Adam’s sword cutting through her arm all over again, slowly and horribly painful. It was ridiculous, she couldn’t even remember the moment it had happened and she doubted she had even felt much, it had happened so fast. She moved to fight down the panic, walked up and down the store until she was sure she wouldn’t have a panic attack, at least not right now. The cold sweat on her skin made her want to get out of her sweater, but she was already freezing.

She closed the store half an hour to early, but she doubted she’d get another customer today. It was Saturday and she still had half the day left, but she felt drained and tired. Too tired to go to the gym, and she barely ever missed the opportunity on a Saturday. Even too tired to step by at the grocery store. She decided to order pizza when she buried her hand in the pocked of her coat and walked past by it.

The first thing she noticed when she came home were the voices from the living room. She froze for a moment until she recognised the jingle from that annoying insurance advertisement. But the TV hadn’t been on when she had left the apartment this morning. Then she recognised a black and grey jacket lying on the floor.

She took her coat off before she went to the living room. The TV was on and Mercury was sleeping on her couch. “Idiot”, she mumbled, but she couldn’t keep herself from smiling. He was wearing jeans and a black shirt, the metal feet of her prosthetics dangling over the edge, his hair was still wet. For a moment she thought about waking him up, but she really wanted a hot shower and who knew when she would get up if she laid down next to him now.

She didn’t like to admit it, but knowing he was there had immediately made her feel better. When she stepped out of the shower she felt almost as good as before she had left for work this morning. She took her time, dried her hair and switched into jogging pants and a big knitted sweater before she went back to the living room.

He was still asleep, his arms crossed behind his head and she was pretty sure he was wearing a shirt some guy had forgot at her place a couple of months ago. She had used it as a pyjama since then while she had ignored said guy’s calls. It was a bit tight on him, not that she minded though. She carefully climbed over him to lie down on the couch, resting her head on his chest and letting herself admit for a moment how good his warmth felt. His breath was slow and steady. He didn’t move until she closed her eyes to breath in his scent, then he wrapped his arms around her.

“You’re awake?”, she asked.

“I’d make a terrible huntsman if I just slept through a hundred and fifty pounds of blonde hair throwing themselves on my.”

“If you ever guess my weight again I will throw you out.”

He laughed and pinched her hip. “You won’t.”

“Watch me.” She pulled herself up on her forearm to look at him. He still looked a bit tired and she wondered how long he had been on this mission, how long he hadn’t slept. She wondered when she had started to worry about him like that. She wondered when they had gone from undressing each other immediately to cuddling on the couch. “How long are you staying?”

“Couple of days?”

That could work. She would have to throw him out by Thursday, she had promised her father to visit next weekend and she had decided a while ago not to change her plans for him, ever. “I have to work”, she said.

“I won’t eat your shoes while you’re gone.”

“Injuries?”

“Nothing bad, really. Just some bruises.”

“Show me.”

“Come on. Later, okay?”

“Merc…”

The expression on her face made him sit up, even though he rolled his eyes. He had told her a while ago that he thought it was ridiculous the first thing she wanted to know every time they met were his injuries. He had learned a while ago how serious she was about it, and how much it could freak her out if she found them unprepared. He took his shirt off and Yang bit her lip. Dark bruises covered his left sides, from his rips to his chest. “Nothing’s broken”, he said.

“Does it still hurt?”

He shrugged. “Only if you’re too rough with me.”

“Anything else?”

“Lost my legs.”

“Idiot.”

He laughed when he put his shirt back on. He was definitely tired if he didn’t even try to have sex with her. She was still glad he was here. It had taken her long enough to admit that. She sighed and cupped his cheek with her hand, pulled him closer to kiss him briefly. No matter how long he was gone, a couple of weeks or a couple of months, she always forgot how familiar his lips felt on hers. She didn’t feel cold for the first time in days. “Did you eat?”

“I bought pizza on the way here. There’s still some left in the kitchen if you’re hungry.”

Two slices of cold pizza were better than having to cook. She sat down on the edge of the couch while she ate and he zapped through the television programme, laid back down next to him when she was done. Her head was resting on his chest again and he lazily stroked her back until he fell asleep. They stayed like this for a while and she listened to his breath while he slept. It was weird how comforting it was, because she rarely let anyone she slept with stay over until the next morning and when she was at someone else’s place she always sneaked out before she could fall asleep. Maybe because she never slept with anyone she really knew apart of him. Maybe because he was the only person she still dared to keep close.

She got up before she could get too tired. She found his wet laundry in her washing machine and put it in her dryer, then collected some of her dirty laundry from around the apartment to wash it. If she hadn’t spent the last six years fucking him she probably would have felt a tiny bit of shame about him stumbling over her dirty underwear on the bedroom floor.

She was doing the dishes when he woke up. She heard his footsteps when he walked to the bathroom, metal on wood. His footsteps gave him away when he came back, stopping right behind her. “Are you staring?”, she asked and dried her hand with the kitchen towel.

“Every time I come over you put more effort into your outfit.”

She rolled her eyes and bit her lip to keep herself from smiling when she turned around. He was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed. “You keep coming back anyway”, she said.

“Same for you.” He smirked and stepped closer. She knew the look he gave her all too well. She knew him well enough to predict what he would do next, when he laid his hands on her hips and kissed her, and the truth was that even though they both slept with other people nothing came close to the way he kissed her, the way his hands felt oh her skin when they finally made their way under her sweater. She pulled his shirt over his head, careful with his bruises, and when he had to let go of her to let her take it off she missed his touch.

“Bedroom”, she mumbled before she pulled him closer to kiss him again.

“Does that mean we’re getting old?”, he said when he picked her up.

She wrapped her legs around his hip and her arm around his shoulders. “What?”

“A couple of years ago we would have fucked on the kitchen floor.”

“A couple of years ago we wouldn’t have fucked at all.” She kissed his neck. “Are you complaining?”

“I know my back isn’t.” He carried her to the bedroom and laid her on the bed, but she pulled him with her, refused to let go of him.

“We’re just not teenagers anymore.” She kissed his jawline and then pushed him on his back, sitting down on his lap. It felt good to be still able to overpower him, though she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to last a minute against him if he even tried. He smirked and she took her sweater off to get rid of those thoughts.

The truth was that the difference between him and all the other guys and girls she slept with was that he managed to make her brain shut up for a few blissful hours. For a few hours she almost felt like before the harsh reality had crushed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it is, my new story! 
> 
> This is largely inspired by anawitch's stories, mainly the relationship between Mercury and Yang, because I always loved this casual dating-but-not-dating and wanted to write something like that. 
> 
> What happened to everyone else? Why the hell does Yang work in a book shop? It will all be explained in this story. I will tell my version of what might have happened during the war with Salem and how Yang might finally deal with it. 
> 
> I hope you're just as excited as I am!


	2. Chapter 2

“Yang!”

She looked up. Oliver was standing right in front of the counter, raising his eyebrows. “Yeah?” She sat up.

“You seem a bit… off today.”

“I’m just bored.” She shrugged. There were no customers in the store right now and she wasn’t even ashamed to admit that her thoughts had drifted off to Mercury who was in her apartment right now, probably still asleep or watching TV. That she had to say goodbye tomorrow morning. “Did you finally turn the temperature up?”

“Actually I didn’t. You stopped complaining.”

“Maybe I just had a cold.”

“That guy was here yesterday, right after you left.” Oliver leaned against the counter and pushed his dark hair out of his face. “The one who always tries to talk to you.”

“Shy guy?” She rolled her eyes. “He never talks to me, he just stares.”

“He asked if you had a boyfriend.”

“Oh no. What did you say?”

“I said you’re seeing someone. Which technically is not a lie, you see many people from time to time. I had a feeling he’s not your type.”

Technically she was seeing someone right now, but Mercury wasn’t her boyfriend. She was beyond saying he was just someone she met from time to time and slept with, but they both had never felt like putting a label on whatever weird relationship they had and she was pretty happy with how things were. “I hope he stops trying”, she said. “It starts to get annoying.”

“It starts to get creepy. I don’t want you to be found in a dark alleyway with a cut throat and without your kidneys one day.”

“Trust me, that won’t happen.” She probably would be able to throw shy guy out of the window despite missing one arm and being out of shape.

“Did something happen?”

She narrowed her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing. Just… I mean you look… happy.”

She quickly looked away. “Sex.”

“What?”

“Sex happened.  That’s it.” She shrugged. He didn’t need to know about Mercury. They were nothing but co-workers after all.

“Oh, _are_ you seeing someone?”

“That’s not what I said. I have sex.”

“The day you finally get yourself a boyfriend I will buy you the most expensive champagne the supermarket across the street has to offer.”

“Before that happens the supermarket will turn into a stripclub.”

 

* * *

 

“I cooked”, Mercury said when Yang closed the door behind her. He had his arms crossed in front of his chest, leaning against his wall. He looked as if someone had died and it smelled like he had burned the poor soul alive.

“I didn’t know you could cook.” Or that he tried even though he couldn’t.

“I was tired of junk food.” It sounded like he wanted to start a fight, but she knew him well enough to know it wasn’t her she wasn’t angry at.

She left her shoes by the door and tried to walk past him into the kitchen, but he stopped her by wrapping his arms around her waist. “Merc-“

“I ruined your pan.”

She sighed. “It was my only pan.”

He pulled her closer even though she half-heartedly tried to escape and pressed his lips on her neck. “I’ll get you a new one.” He sounded rather annoyed than sorry.

“Alright.” She leaned against him and rolled her eyes. “But I really need to eat something, just let me get some cornflakes.”

“Yang, I cooked.”

She turned around in his arms to look at him. “But you burnt it.”

“The pan. I forgot it’s not a gas stove and stays hot after you turn it off.”

She wasn’t sure what to think about the way he looked at her, but she knew she didn’t like it when he was in such a bad mood. It happened without warning and trying to make him talk about it never helped. Everything she could do was to wait for him to calm down and stop him snapping at someone, or snapping at her and sulking for hours like last time. She pulled him down to kiss him softly, to calm him down. “What did you cook?”

“Pasta.” He didn’t look her in the eyes, looked into her direction without looking at her. His arms were still wrapped around her tightly. “It’s getting cold.”

“Alright, let’s eat.” She sighed and leaned her forehead against his shoulder for a moment, just so she wouldn’t end up catching his bad mood. “Any reason you cooked beyond being tired of ordering takeaway?”

“I was bored.” He pulled her closer for a second, burying his face in her hair, then he suddenly let go. “Come on.”

Pasta in this case meant spaghetti with lots of vegetables, chopped into cubes so small she couldn’t even tell what it once had been anymore. It didn’t taste bad though, quite the opposite. Yang had never expected him to be able to even touch food without ruining it.

They sat on the couch while they ate, watching some quiz show and none of them said a word. Afterwards he disappeared into the kitchen to do the dishes as he said, she was almost scared he might just ruin more than just her pan. She switched to a bad action movie and laid down. So this was it, the last evening before they wouldn’t see each other again for whoever knew how long and he was in such a bad mood he had even begun to cook. Maybe this was the reason it would never work out between them, because he would eventually get bored with her.

He still looked like he was about to murder someone when he came back. For a moment she thought he would tell her to make space, but he just laid down next to her, resting his head on her chest. He let out a heavy sigh. She stroked his hair out of his head and kissed his forehead. Maybe this was the reason he kept coming back to her and she kept coming back to him, because somewhere along the way they had learned not to use each other as a punching bag but as a pillow when they needed comfort but were too proud to let anyone else see them vulnerable.

They stayed like this until she was sure he had fallen asleep. She kept running her hand through his hair, thinking about how soft it got whenever he stayed over because he used her expensive shampoo and usually seemed to wash his hair with the same stuff he used to do his dishes and scrub the bathtub.

He propped himself up on his forearms all of a sudden, looking down on her. His expression had changed. He seemed almost relaxed. She shifted to make it easier for him not to slip off the couch with his metal knees. “I’m sorry about your pan”, he said. It sounded like he actually wanted to say something else.

“I didn’t like it anyway.” She traced the curve of his neck with her fingertips as if she had to remember what it felt like after they would go separate ways tomorrow.

“I can still try to save it.”

“Don’t you dare to move now.”

He smiled, almost softly, and it made her stomach tingle. It was rare that he looked at her like that, without the teasing and mocking façade he tried to uphold even around her most of the time. He leaned his forehead against hers and she closed her eyes. His lips ghosted over her cheek. “Not at all?”

“Maybe a bit.”

He kissed along her jawbone. “How much is a bit?” She could feel his lips curl up in a smile.

“You will know.” She pulled him closer to kiss him. He was laughing and she felt like he was getting under her skin so much she was about to burst, in a good or a bad way, she couldn’t tell.

 

* * *

 

“Yang!”

“Five more minutes.” She buried her face in the pillow and tried to fall back to sleep.  

“Your scroll.” He groaned and rolled away from her, taking the blanket with him so she was left without it and without his warmth.

“Oh, come on.” She sat up and reached for her scroll. It was five in the morning and the one calling was Weiss. She stared at her scroll for a minute before she turned it off.

“Who was it?”

“Weiss.” She laid back down and pulled at the blanket until he moved closer and pulled her back into his arms.

“Why didn’t you answer?”

“I talked to her last month.” Or the month before, she couldn’t tell. “Also it’s five in the morning, she’s probably somewhere in Vacuo and forgot about the time difference.” She closed her eyes and tried to relax, but she couldn’t stop thinking about it. “I mean she’s calling from time to time, it’s nothing usual”, she said eventually.

“Mhm.”

“She’s the one who always wants to know if I’m alright and what’s up and please talk about your issues with me, tell me what’s bothering you. She’s worried, way too worried. Why does everyone-“

He stopped her by kissing her softly. “Yang. Sleep.”

“But-“

He kissed her again. “Can you tell me all about this when it’s not in the middle of the night?”

“Weiss always gets up at half past five.”

“Am I sharing a bed with Weiss Schnee now?” He pulled her closer. His breath on her neck was somehow soothing. “Try to sleep.”

 

* * *

 

“How long didn’t you use it?”

“I don’t know, two or three months?” She shrugged and watched him work on her prosthetic. “Not since the last time I went home.”

“You shouldn’t just let it lie around when you don’t use it. Move it a bit from time to time. But it shouldn’t be much of a problem with this one, the cheaper ones are much more of a hassle.”

“So it won’t just stop working while I’m riding my motorbike deep in a dark forest full of Grimm?”

“I would be worried about that if I didn’t know it takes more to take you down.” He looked up. “Try it on.”

Wearing her prosthetic felt weird. As if it belonged to a different life, one she had left behind. She didn’t wear it anymore simply because she didn’t need it, and she loved the feeling of not needing it. Needing it meant she had to fight, she had to be a huntress. Not working in a shop that sold second hand books and spending her days between books she didn’t care about, going to the gym, dating people she never met more than a couple of times, and desperately trying to feel save. It wasn’t the life she wanted, but everything she got and she just tried to make it work.

The only problem was that this was something she didn’t want to talk about with her dad or Qrow or basically anyone. She had explained it to Mercury once and he hadn’t brought it up since. So she just put the prosthetic on when she saw anyone from her old life and avoided the conversation.

“So… where are you going now?”, she asked while she experimentally moved her prosthetic.

“City of Vale. The witch wants me at Beacon for a couple of weeks to help with some classes.”

“I can’t believe you are going to be a teacher at Beacon.” She shook her head. Things hadn’t exactly turned out right, but definitely unexpected.

“I wouldn’t call it that. She watches every step I take when I’m anywhere near her students. She doesn’t trust me.” He shoved his clothes into his backpack. “She probably can’t believe I sold my soul to her, and sometimes I can’t either.”

“At least you get to yell at lazy students that way.” She put her coat on. So she wouldn’t see him for a couple of weeks.

“And then the witch yells at me.” He hung his backpack over one of his shoulders. “So… have fun with your family.”

She looked at him for a moment, awkwardly moving the fingers of her prosthetic before she stepped forward and cupped his cheek with her real hand to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t make her cut your throat.”

“I’ll try.” He smirked and pecked the tip of her nose. “Can’t promise anything though.”

Goodbyes were probably the toughest part of their arrangement. They never knew when they would see each other again and Mercury being gone was way easier than letting him go. They would meet again, she knew that, and if he didn’t spend his time somewhere outside the Kingdoms without signal he would call her. He always did when he was bored, she always did when she felt like everything was crashing down on her again. But she still wished he could stay a bit longer.

“Say hello from me”, she said. “She might stop believing you’ll cut her throat any minute if she knows we’re still in touch.”

“I’ll try that. I doubt it will help, though.” He kissed her again, longer this time, and even though they had kissed so often over the last few days she felt like she couldn’t get enough of his lips right now. “I’ll see you around.”


	3. Chapter 3

The first thing Yang noticed when she visited her childhood home always was that it looked different. Something was off, but she never managed to lay her finger on what bothered her about it.

She hesitated for too long before she knocked. Something inside her told her to run away as fast as she could and in her weak moments she asked herself if that was the same thing Raven had felt before she had left her. She heard steps behind the door. Now it was too late for that anyway.

“Yang!” Taiyang hadn’t changed, or at least she was still able to pretend he hadn’t. He pulled her into his arms and for a moment it felt like home again. “I didn’t expect you to be here before tomorrow.”

“Work is keeping me busy, I didn’t really know if I’d get today off.” She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. “Where’s Drei?” He had adopted the lazy black Labrador shortly after the end of the final battle, mainly for Ruby. Yang had never really lived with him, but she still loved the dog.

“Upstairs I guess. Hey, Ruby actually wanted to show you something.” He smiled, no, beamed at her before he went upstairs. “Ruby, she’s here!”

Yang’s throat clenched. Seeing Ruby was always the one thing about coming home that scared her to death. She tried to remember the cheerful huntress, tried to forget her, she wasn’t sure what to do. Seeing her still made her heart ache.

“Hey, sis”, Ruby said when she appeared at the top of the stairs. Taiyang was right behind her, but he didn’t hold her when she moved her foot over the first step.

“Ruby, watch out, you’ll-“, Yang shrieked, but Ruby only laughed and for a moment she was herself again, proud of walking done the stairs all by herself, using it to troll her.

“I wrote you I had a surprise”, Ruby said and for a moment Yang felt incredibly bad for not replying to her last letter. “I finally made it all the way down last week. I still need help to walk upstairs though.” Her steps were clumsy, still, but she was walking. She concentrated on every move and her bangs almost covered the patch over her right eye. She almost looked like before. _Almost_.

“Careful”, Yang said when Ruby had reached the final step and wrapped her arms around her, to hug her and to keep her from falling. “I’m so proud of you.”

“It’s so good to see you.” Ruby wrapped her arms around her tightly, more tightly than last time, and for a moment Yang felt incredibly bad for not being here more often, for moving out in the first place. She pulled Ruby closer.

“The doctor said she might run a marathon next year”, Taiyang said. “He’s impressed by the progress she’s making.”

“I’ve spent enough time lying around.”

Yang hadn’t needed her to remind her. The final battle against Salem. The sacrifice Ruby had made. The months they had waited for her to wake up. The long recovery. Over two years and Ruby was still feeling the consequences of using more of her powers than she should have.

“Come on, girls, dinner is almost read”, Taiyang said.

Yang wrapped her arm around Ruby’s hip Ruby’s steps were clumsy and Yang was scared she might stumble every minute.

 

* * *

 

“I’m reading a lot”, Ruby said. She sat on her bed, Drei’s head resting in her lap while she pointed at the stack of books on her night table. She rubbed her eye under the patch. “My eye finally recovered enough not to tear up when I read for a long time. Well, at least the left one. Did I tell you I can now take the patch off at night? The right one doesn’t hurt in the dark anymore.”

“I could see if I can get some books for you where I work.” Yang sat down on the bed next to her, avoiding to talk about Ruby’s physical condition too much. The visit would already make her anxious for weeks.

“That would be great. Though I loved the recordings you sent me.”

She looked up. “You remember those?”

“Not from when I was unconscious, but dad played them for me after I woke up, too. Life can be very boring when you’re basically blind and too weak to get up.”

“If I had known that I would have sent you more.”

“It’s alright. I often fell asleep while listening to them anyway, so it took me a while to really understand what was even happening.” Ruby smiled and then looked away for a moment, petting Drei absently. “Are you still seeing Mercury?”

Okay, that was a topic she could deal with. “Yeah, from time to time. He sometimes visits when he’s in the area.”

“I never thought I’d one day be glad about you saying that. I saw him when we went to the doctor in Vale, he took me for a tour through Beacon in my wheelchair.”

Yang gulped. He hadn’t told her about that. “Nice of him.”

“Weiss said you’re never returning her calls”, Ruby said, not shying away from the hard topics today.  “I mean… I’m not trying to tell you what to do, but talking to her really helps me a lot. Maybe you should give it a try.”

“I’ll call her back.” Yang ran her fingers over her prosthetic. She would, she always did. Maybe next month.

“Did you hear anything from Blake?”

Yang looked up. “No. I mean… I think Weiss mentioned her last time we spoke. We don’t talk that much anymore.”

“I just thought maybe… they refuse to tell me anything, but I know she’s missing.”

“She’s _what_?”

“I thought you knew.” Ruby looked a bit shocked for a moment. “A month ago. I heard dad talk about it on the phone.”

“No, they didn’t tell me.” Though she hadn’t really talked to either her father or Qrow in weeks. “Where? What happened?”

“I don’t know, no one tells me anything. I hoped you would know.”

She shook her head. Blake was missing. And she hadn’t even noticed. “I… I’ll ask Qrow. I’ll tell you when I know more.”

“Thank you.” Ruby sighed. “I’m sure they’re doing everything they can, but if I was strong enough I would go after her, but… it might still take a while. Maybe next year.”

Yang doubted it would only take a year for her to become a huntress again. But that sparkle in Ruby’s eye stopped her from telling her. Determined. Hopeful. “I’ll see what I can do”, she said, even though she didn’t believe there was anything she could do apart from hating herself from cutting Blake out of her life once again.

 

* * *

 

She never told her father how long she would stay and this time she left only hours after she had arrived. Hugged Ruby goodbye and promised she’d come back soon and definitely call her next week, knowing she was shitty at keeping promises and shitty at being a sister. Hugged her father goodbye and promised to eat properly and text him once she had made it back home safely.

It was already dark. Yang had always felt like the harbour had a certain smell to it, later she had found out it was just the smell of the ocean. Whenever she was by the sea she could close her eyes and pretend she was on Patch, watching the lights of the small town glistening in the dark water. She still remembered Summer buying her one of the cherry tartlets the town’s bakery was famous for. She had never eaten one ever since Summer had died. Now as she waited for the last fairy to take her home she felt like getting one, but the shop was already closed. Maybe it didn’t even exist anymore.

Blake was missing. For years she had avoided her calls until she had stopped calling at all, had tried to pretend she didn’t exist just so she could ignore everything Blake would definitely throw at her if they would ever meet again. She had tried to pretend it didn’t hurt as much this way but got did it hurt.

The only thing she knew was that as much as she desperately tried to solve her problems on her own and keep everything close to her chest, she needed to talk about this with someone and there was only one person she would. One person she shared everything but one secret with. Someone she trusted, as stupid as it was. That person should have been Blake, she knew that. But Blake had always cared too much to let her do this in her own way.

If she hurried she could make it to the City of Vale by dawn.


	4. Chapter 4

“Give me one reason not to shoot them”, Ironwood said, sitting down behind his desk. His office was almost too small for their meeting.

“They’re not your soldiers, James.” Glynda sat on the edge of his desk, avoiding to look at him. “This is not just your decision to make.”

“Because they have information.” Qrow leaned against the wall, staring at the two ragged figures who were tied to two chairs at the end of the room. “Valuable information.”

“They saved us.” Ruby looked as if she was about to throw herself in front of them, but before Yang could do anything Weiss laid her hand on Ruby’s shoulder. “They already had us. But then they took Hazel down and helped us escape.”

To be completely honest, Yang wouldn’t mind Ironwood shooting them too much. Especially Mercury. But the metal his torn trousers revealed kept her from being too angry. For a horrible moment she had blamed herself for it, but of course it hadn’t been her, and with Emerald using her semblance to fight Hazel it all made sense. She just didn’t know how to feel.

“They explained why they left”, Blake said. “It makes… sense.”

“They’re criminals. They took part in the fall of Beacon. We’re at war and you want to bond with the enemy?” Ironwood crossed his arms. “Are you too blind to see this is a trap?”

“If I hadn’t left the White Fang I would have been there, too. I’ve-“

“It would be a pretty stupid trap”, Weiss interrupted her before Blake could say another word. “Hazel already had Ruby. He would have won. They knew we wouldn’t trust them, so why didn’t they just send someone we don’t know? Why would they risk sending both of them when they knew we might just lock them in a cell until they die?”

“The Schnee has a point”, Qrow said. “Just take their weapons away, lock them into one of your pretty rooms and we’ll see if they’ll prove their worth.”

“This is ridiculous”, James growled.

“We’re at war. People use desperate measures when they’re at war. At least this doesn’t get more people killed”, Glynda said. “We will get as many information out of them as possible. If they prove their worth and the war is over we’ll offer them a deal. They become huntsmen, dedicate their life to use their skills for something a bit more… noble, and we won’t hold what happened before against them.”

“This is ridiculous”, James growled.

“They’re just kids, James. The girl was fifteen when Cinder recruited her.”

“Fine.” He got up. “Under your supervision. You’ll be responsible for them when this war is over and they have kept their word. But we will take their weapons.”

“What about his legs?”, Qrow asked. A cold shiver ran down Yang’s spine.

“Those too. They’re weapons.”

“He can’t walk without his legs”, Ruby said.

Yang saw the almost panicked expression on Mercury’s face and she tried to savour it, tried to remind herself that he deserved it, but the only thing she felt was the anxiety that followed her around ever since the night she had met Adam.

“Just take his ammunition, make sure he can’t shoot with them anymore”, Yang said. For a moment the room fell silent. She knew everyone was looking at her, but she kept staring at Qrow until he slowly nodded.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this was a flashback. 
> 
> I haven't updated for longer than I wanted, but I've been busy writing one shots that I will post on here in September. I have already written a couple of chapters I only need to edit, so I hope to update this more frequently now. 
> 
> Also Bedtime Stories. I really need to update Bedtime Stories.


	5. Chapter 5

Yang had been at Mercury’s place exactly once. The one time she hadn’t been able to avoid coming back here. It had ended with him picking her up from a bar, drunk and sobbing, something they had never talked about again.

She knocked, but he wasn’t home. For a minute she considered just waiting on her doorstep, but he shamelessly broke into her apartment every time he came over, so either he would be okay with her doing the same or they needed to have a serious talk. Opening the door was ridiculously easy.

His apartment was a mess. It honestly rather seemed like an abandoned building some junkies lived in than a home. One room, a mattress with a crumbled blanket in a corner, cartons with clothes and equipment for his prosthetics and weapons, he didn’t even have a desk. If it hadn’t looked exactly like last time she had been here she would have thought he was about to move out.

She had been driving all night, but her hunger was bigger than her tiredness. The kitchen was full of dirty dishes, but when she opened his fridge she was actually surprised. She had expected nothing but junkfood because it was everything he seemed to eat when he was visiting her, but his fridge was full of eggs and vegetables, the freezer full of frozen vegetables, chicken and healthy stuff. It made more sense the longer she thought about it. He relied on his body. Why had she even thought he was not eating healthily?

She ended up eating a slice of bread (whole grain, of course) with cheese, took a quick shower and borrowed one of his shirts (at least it smelled clean), took off her prosthetic and almost felt relieved. When she wanted to lie down on the mattress she almost tripped over a brown ball of fur. The ball of fur raised its head, looked at her and meowed.

“Mercury, since when do you have a cat?” That definitely was something he hadn’t told her. She carefully pulled at the blanket, but the cat just got up and jumped into one of the cartons with Mercury’s clothes. She was probably not making friends here.

The bed sheets smelled like him and it was more comforting than she wanted to admit. She fell asleep before she could begin to worry about Blake.

 

___

She woke up to the sound of the running shower. She groaned and turned around and suddenly had her face full of soft hair. She almost jumped out of the bed, only for the cat to look at her with half closed eyes, stretching out on the pillow and purring. “Holy shit”, she mumbled. “You scared the hell out of me.”

She reached for her scroll. It was late afternoon and she had a message from her dad, asking if she had arrived home safely. She replied with a simple _Yes_.

The water stopped running and she heard Mercury’s heavy footsteps, tried to run her hands through her still wet hair to look at least a bit presentable.

“You’re awake?”, he asked behind her and she slowly turned around. He was wearing jeans, nothing else, still rubbing his hair dry with a towel.

“You never told me you had a cat.”

“She’s not my cat. She just happens to be here a lot and I feed her.”

“She? Does she have a name.”

“Cat.”

“Why did I even ask?” She got up and for a moment she wasn’t sure what to say or do.

“Are you hungry”, he asked eventually.

“Yes.”

“I can make something.”

“I can help you if you want.”

He shrugged. “I’m not even sure if two people fit into this kitchen.”

It worked as long as Yang sat on the window shelf, even though she had to admit his kitchen was tiny. Rents in the City of Vale were a nightmare. “You never told me you can cook”, she said. “Do you use that to impress the girls you bring here?”

“I never bring any girls home”, he said while chopping onions. “If I did I’d have to clean this space once in a while. But usually the only woman I see when I’m in Vale is the witch, so… anyway, if I do I’ll make her take me to her place, that way I can make sure she doesn’t suddenly show up on my doorstep.”

“Like me?”

“I already made my peace with the fact that I won’t get rid of you.” She would have pouted if his smirk hadn’t told her he was very alright with that. She suddenly felt usual warmth rushing through her.

“So how was your day as a teacher?”

“The witch only made me watch some of her students and make notes. She doesn’t trust me to interact with them directly.”

“How were they?”

 “Some were decent, some… I was about to ask her if they just accept anyone these days, but I was scared she’d rip my head off. Broccoli or mushrooms?”

“Mushrooms. I’m proud of you for not being an idiot who says something like that to Glynda.”

“Finally I get to impress you.” He threw onions, mushrooms and chicken into a pan, put a lid on top and turned around to look at her. “So”, he said, stopping right in front of her and stroking her thigh with his fingertips. “What are you doing here?”

She had dreaded the question. “Do I need a reason?”, she asked, avoiding his gaze.

“Yeah, because you never just step by. You never set a foot anywhere near Beacon. You begged the witch to give me a day off so I could come and visit you because you didn’t want to spend your birthday alone but also refused to just come over. What made you change your mind so suddenly?”

She took a deep breath and looked at him. “Blake is missing.”

For a moment he didn’t say anything. The movement of his fingers stopped. “Anything from Em?”, he asked, his voice a bit husky.

“No. Ruby didn’t know anything, maybe they weren’t even together.” She could see the relief wash over his face. He took her hands in his, intertwined their fingers and she squeezed them softly.

“And what are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know.”

He sighed and pecked her cheek to calm her down. It didn’t help much. For a moment she leaned her head against his shoulder. “Fuck”, she groaned and suddenly pushed him away to get up. “Fuck!” She walked out of the kitchen, just to get more space, more air to breathe.

“Yang.”

“They probably just sit there and do nothing, wait for her to come back and if she doesn’t they’ll send a prewritten letter to her parents and put her name on some bench in a park so they can feel like they have done something.”

“Why don’t you go after her?”

She turned around and just stared at him for a moment. “Because… I mean I don’t know, I-“

“But you _could_.”

“No, I can’t.”

“Of course you could.” His voice was harsh all of a sudden.

“I can’t do this on my own”, she said. “I’m… I’m too out of this.”

“Don’t be silly, you’re still more skilled and talented than any of those idiots I had to watch today. You know how to do this. You’re sitting in a stupid bookshop to hide from the fact that you’re a huntress and you’ll always be one.”

“Fuck you.”

“If you don’t want to go after her just say it, but don’t lie to me or yourself and say you can’t.”

“You have no idea what I am or want”, she hissed. “You know, I shouldn’t have told you.” She turned around and began to search for her clothes. “I’m done here.”

“If I could I would go after her and I don’t even like her.”

She looked at him. The worst part about fighting with him was that she knew why he was mad. She knew him too well to just pretend he was an asshole and leave. He had made a deal. Absolution for selling his soul to Glynda, dedicating his life to being a huntsman and having her watch every step he took. No way he could come up with a proper explanation for leaving for weeks without telling her where he went. Yang had learned a few things about Mercury over the last six years and one was that couldn’t stand being trapped, he couldn’t stand not being able to do anything about the situation he was in. She had that choice, she could just leave and try to find Blake, but she was throwing it away.

It wasn’t like they hadn’t had that discussion before.

“You don’t understand”, she said eventually and turned around again.

 “Yang…” His voice was softer now, but she ignored him until he wrapped his arms around her from behind, softly kissing her shoulder. “I’m sorry, okay?”

That definitely wasn’t something she heard him say very often. At least not when he meant it. “Oh, are you?”

“Come on.”

She closed her eyes and leaned against him. “I’m not doing this without a reason. It’s just… more complicated than you think.”

“I didn’t… can we just talk about this later? Let’s eat first.”

She turned around and he kissed the tip of her nose as if he wanted to say he really was sorry. She leaned her head against his chest. “Okay”, she said.

He kissed her softly and for a moment she almost felt like she could trust him enough to tell him, but the truth was that it wasn’t just about her. Telling him would only harm him.

 

* * *

 

“You don’t have a TV”, she said when he came back from the kitchen. She wasn’t mad at him anymore, but he had still felt guilty enough to do the dishes on his own.

“It broke.” He shrugged and lied down next to her on the mattress. “I didn’t get to replace it yet.”

“And what do you when you’re bored?” She stared at the ceiling and wished he would touch her.

“I work out or I call some blonde I once slept with.”

“You know how to give a compliment.” She sat up and looked down at him, stroking his cheek with her hand. “Merc… what if we went to look for Blake together?”

“What if you just went to Goodwitch to tell her I broke the agreement? She didn’t even let me go on a mission with Blake, why would she let me go with you?” He rolled his eyes. “You’ve had brighter moments.”

“I’m not stupid. But what if we’d convinced her to let you join me?”

“How would you do that?”

“Qrow.”

He sighed. “You haven’t talked to him in years.”

“I could now. And he could convince Glynda.”

“Do you really think she’d let me run away, trusting me to come back and not just disappear? She never lets me go on missions without some of her stupid huntsmen watching every step I take.”

“If you wanted to you could have disappeared long ago.” She pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arm around her legs. “If I could convince them, would you come with me?”

“Of course I would.”

She took a deep breath. “You know, I almost hoped you’d say no.”

“Because it feels like the old days?”

“Yeah, almost.”

He sat up and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “What if Glynda says no?”

“She won’t. I won’t let her. She owes it to me.”


	6. Chapter 6

“No”, Glynda said.

“Two weeks and then we’ll head back. Not more. Please…”

“I can’t just let you take him on a mission without anyone but him joining you. Since when do you even go on missions again?”

“I don’t”, Yang said. “Just… this one.”

“That’s the thing, you’re out of training”, Qrow said. “This is not a mission to get back into things, especially not with him.”

“Not even to speak about his past. What if he cuts your throat as soon as he has the opportunity?” Glynda sat down behind her desk. “You seem to trust him more than you should.”

“I’ve been sleeping with him for six years now”, Yang said dryly. “I don’t think he’ll cut my throat.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” Qrow shook his head. “But she’s right. Mercury could have betrayed us many times and he never did. You’re right to stay cautious, but you don’t have to expect him to plot the second fall of Beacon behind our backs.”

“As long as you can’t prove me he’s not I won’t trust him.”

“But I trust my niece’s judgement in this case.”

“Still. I can’t just let her run off with him for an early honeymoon. You should at least take another trained huntsman with you. I think Jaune Arc is in town right now.”

Yang regretted even mentioning the thing they had going on, but at this point people probably knew anyway. “It’s not like that…” She took a deep breath. “I don’t want to do this with a group of people. Just him. He knows how I fight, he’s experienced enough to do this with me, but anyone else would just make this more complicated for both of us. Also he’s not good with people.” Her explanation was weak, she knew that, but what was she supposed to say? _He’s the only one who has an idea of the state I’m in. I don’t want anyone else see me having a panic attack. I don’t feel comfortable around anyone else anymore and I don’t know why but it breaks my heart._ “If we take more people with us it will be harder to do this without causing too much attention.”

“Yang and her friends played an important part in convincing him to switch sides in the first place”, Qrow said. “Or rather sticking to that decision and agreeing on the deal you now have with him. It’s only fair for her to borrow him once.”

“You can’t be serious.” Glynda sighed. “And what if they just run off?”

“She’d never leave Ruby. You know that.”

“Alright, alright. I don’t really need him right now anyway.” Glynda looked at Yang. “Two weeks. No longer. You will report back to me every day, you will not get yourself in any dangerous situations and you are responsible for him not doing anything that would give me a reason to straight up send him to Ironwood.”

“If he did anything like that I’d drag him to Ironwood myself.”

“Alright.” Glynda sighed. “Blake was supposed to get more information on a series of robberies down in Vacuo. Some tourists from Vale were involved, that’s why we sent her to work with a group of local huntsmen. We lost contact thirty-five days ago. They are looking for them, but if you don’t trust them to do their job… go ahead. I’ll send you the information we have.”

It sounded more ridiculous when she thought about it that way. Of course someone was looking for her. But she couldn’t just sit here and do nothing. “Maybe I can help”, she said.

“Please make sure I won’t regret this.” Glynda got up. “You know, if you hadn’t taken such a major part in bringing Salem down I would never do this. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

 _Me too_ , Yang thought as she got up and left the office with Qrow. _Me too._

“You know, I have a feeling I should be more worried than I am”, Qrow said when the elevator doors closed in front of them. “But I’m glad you’re going on missions again.”

“ _One_ mission. It’s a one-time thing.” Yep, that was the reason she hadn’t talked to him in months.

“Just be careful, okay? You know if I didn’t know Mercury was such a good fighter and that he… well, at least cares about some parts of you I wouldn’t let you leave.”

“I’ll be fine. Just… don’t tell dad, okay? He’ll just worry too much.”

“Sure. Have fun in Vacuo”, he said when the elevator door opened again. “Maybe step by for a coffee when you’re back?”

“Sure.” She was sure she wouldn’t. “Say Ruby hello from me next time you see her.”

“I will. Be careful, firecracker. And good luck.”

 

* * *

 

Walking through the halls of Beacon felt like being hit with everything she had lost again and again. She still knew the courtyard and tried not to remember every happy minute she had spent here.

Yang sneaked into the classroom and spotted Mercury almost immediately. He sat in the back row, watching two students spar against each other under the watchful eyes of Professor Peach.

“Hey”, she whispered when she sat down next to him.

“What are you doing here?” He looked at her and laid his notebook on the desk in front of him. “Did you talk to the witch?”

She nodded. “But I don’t want to distract you from teaching those kids a valuable lesson.”

“The girl is clumsy when she tries to block his attacks and the boy seriously needs to stop showing off, half of his movements are unnecessary.” He leaned back and crossed his arms behind his head. “What did she say?”

“Yes.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

Yang shrugged. “Qrow put in a good word for you. We can leave tonight.”

“Are you telling me we’re actually going or just that we could?”

“Don’t give me a reason to change my mind.”

“So we’re leaving tonight.” He wrote something on his notepad and then got up. “Let’s go, I’m done here.”

“Good to see you take this job seriously.”

“The witch doesn’t want me here anyway.” He shrugged. “I’ll talk to her, get my stuff and leave as soon as I can. You can wait in my apartment if you want to.”

She followed him outside. If she left fast they would make it out of the school before class ended and they wouldn’t have to face pupils heading for lunch break.

“You know, sometimes I ask myself what you call me when I’m not around.”

“What I call you?”

“Nicknames. You have one for everyone. The witch, the drunk bird, the princess…”

“Blondie. Girlfriend if I need to get rid of an annoying one night stand.”

She blushed and looked away, hoped he wouldn’t notice. There were a few things they never talked about and their relationship was pretty high on that list. She wasn’t his girlfriend. She didn’t want to be his girlfriend. She didn’t even dare to call him a friend, even though she knew how ridiculous it was. He was probably the only friend she still had left. But this still made her flustered for a reason she didn’t want to understand.

“We have to get some stuff from my flat first”, she said to change the topic.

“We can buy clothes on the way if you really need some.”

“That’s stupid and… it’s not what I meant.” She looked at him. He smirked. “You know what I am talking about.”

“Yeah, but I wanted you to say it.”

She took a deep breath. “I need to get Ember Celica.”


	7. Chapter 7

“I could get used to this if your driving skills didn’t make me fear for my life.” Mercury let go of Yang’s hip and got off the motorbike.

“You can walk if you want to.” She took her helmet off. “I still want to leave this evening.”

“Sure? You’ve already been driving for a couple of hours.”

“Sure.” She tried not to look at him when she unlocked the door. “If we leave tonight we can get a ship in the morning. If we leave tomorrow we’ll arrive in the evening and have to wait until next morning before we get a ship and we’ll lose a day.”

He followed her upstairs. “Why a ship? Flying would be faster.”

“Probably booked out for weeks in advance. A captain is always willing to make space if he gets a huntsman to watch over his ship in return.”

“Two huntsmen.”

She unlocked her apartment door. “Whatever. Come, I’ll need your help to move the cupboard.”

He was the only one who knew where her weapons were hidden. He had helped her to hide them there in the first place. The cupboard was too heavy for one of them to move it on their own, at least without using her semblance and that was something she wouldn’t do.

For a while Yang had thought about closing the whole in the floor for good, but in the end she had never replace the missing floor board. The towel she had wrapped her gauntlets in was still there, next to Raven’s sword. Her throat clenched when she saw it. She quickly took Ember Celica and the box with her ammunition out. The sword seemed to stare at her as if it wanted to tell her something. As if she didn’t already know.

“Okay, let’s move it back where it was.”

 

* * *

 

It felt weird to be on a mission again, sort of. It felt even weirder to be on a mission with Mercury. They had worked together during the war, but back then she hadn’t trusted him. Realising she trusted him now was another thing on the list that made her nervous.

They made it to the harbour by dawn. Yang felt like lying down on the floor and falling asleep right there. “Now we just need to find a ship”, she said.

“I can do that”, Mercury said. “You can look after our stuff and rest.”

“I’m not tired.” She took her backpack and ignored him rolling his eyes.

It didn’t take them long to find a captain who was willing to give them a passage. As Yang had said, no one wanted their ship to sink in a sudden Grimm attack and a huntsman who offered his protection for free was worth the extra passengers. The ship looked old and rusty. The captain was suspiciously vague about what they were carrying to Vacuo and annoyingly open about staring at Yang’s cleavage, but at least they got a small cabin all for themselves.

“How are we going to fit into this bed”, Yang said and put her backpack on the floor.

“You on top of me is always a good option.”

She was too tired to respond and just shot him an angry glare. “I’ll go and make sure they’re not messing around with my motorbike.”

“I can do that. Seriously, try to sleep.”

“I don’t need to-“

He cupped her face with his hands and kissed her so softly she forgot what she had wanted to say for a second. “Sleep. You’ll need all your energy once we’re in Vacuo. I’ll go and look after your motorbike.”

“I really hate you when you do that”, she growled. You need sleep to. You’ve been up all night as well.”

“I’ll sleep once I’m back.”

She sighed. “I hate it when you won’t listen.”

“I hate it when you’re that stubborn.”

She nudged him and he laughed. “Alright. Make sure they-“

“I know.”

She sighed and pecked his cheek before he left. She took her coat off and thought about taking her arm off as well, she didn’t like sleeping with it, but it was a stupid idea in case she needed to defend herself fast. There it was, the mindset of a huntress. She lied down in her clothes and was asleep before she could waste another thought on the journey ahead of her.

 

* * *

 

Yang woke up trapped between the wall and Mercury. It was dark and she thought it was late at night until she remembered the cabin didn’t have a window. She had no idea what time it was and how long she had slept. It felt like days.

She turned around. Mercury had turned his back towards her and she wrapped her arm around him, leaned her forehand against his back. She could feel his warmth through his shirt, it felt comforting.

“Are you awake?”, he asked.

“Yes. Did I wake you up?”

“Mh.” He moved and for a second the light of his scroll lit the room. “Half past five.”

“We should get up before we miss dinner.” She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. Being this close to him always made her feel like she should cherish the moment because she never knew how long it would last, if they would ever be this close again. Having some sort of relationship without commitments also meant having a relationship without any security. “How long have you slept?”

“Just as long as you did. I was gone for ten minutes, when I came back you were sleeping like a dead man.”

“I felt dead.” She sighed and moved a little closer. “So… unless a Grimm attacks we’ll just spend the days on this ship lying in bed and trying not to get on each other’s nerves?”

“You’re so unromantic these days.” He laughed. “It’s just like when I came back from this long mission last year. You called your boss and gave the performance of your life when you told him you have a really bad cold, and then we didn’t really get out of bed for three days straight.”

“You forget the part where I almost killed you for disappearing for three months without even telling me you’re still alive.”

He turned around to face her, wrapping his arm around her waist. “Or the part where you slept with your boss and he showed up to bring you soup.”

“Once. I slept with him once. I quit the job a month later and implemented my no sex with co-workers rule.”

“I’m glad I don’t work with you.”

She laughed and hated that it was too dark to actually see him. She stroked his cheek with her hand. “How much time do we have until dinner?”

“An hour.”

She smiled and pulled him closer to kiss him. His lips were soft and warm. “Any idea how we can use that time?”

 

* * *

 

“How romantic”, Mercury said. “If this was a movie I’d propose to you or something.”

“If this was a movie I wouldn’t have ended up with the bad guy.” Yang stared at the sunset, leaning against the balustrade. It was beautiful, but also almost frightening. Yesterday she had been in Vale. She was actually doing this.

“Here you are.”

Yang turned around. The captain approached them, scratching his beard. Whatever he was wearing could have been a uniform a long time ago. “Looking out for Grimm”, Mercury said, cocky as ever.

“It’s a good feeling to have some experienced huntsmen on board. Have you been at Beacon?”

“Yes”, Yang said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“I’m from Mistral”, Mercury said.

“Many huntsmen just take the land route. Many villages on the way that need protection.” The captain leaned against the balustrade, a bit too close to Yang for her liking.

“It’s faster this way”, she said. “We have a mission that doesn’t give us the time for side jobs.”

“She’s also afraid of flying”, Mercury added and Yang wasn’t sure whether to kiss or punch him for that later.

“I see. Well, I’m glad you picked my ship. I just hope you don’t mind sharing a cabin, it was a hassle to get that one.”

“Actually we’re married”, Yang said. She could feel Mercury holding back laughter. “So we don’t mind.”

“Congratulations.” The captain grinned and winked at Mercury. At least two of his teeth were missing. “Good catch.”

“She’s a horrible snorter, but I guess you don’t get such a beauty without at least one flaw.” Mercury wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t you think, sweetheart?”

“I think you should be happy you got anyone with how horrible your feet smell whenever you take your shoes off. But his abs…” She gave Mercury a kiss on the cheek to prove a point in front of the captain and to thank him for playing along. Not that she was in any way scared of the captain, she just preferred not to get bothered by having to explain to his crew why she had kicked his ass back to Vale.

“She’s lovely, isn’t she? Can’t believe how lucky I am.” Mercury pulled her closer to kiss her while his hand stroked her back and travelled south.

“Well, I hope you’ll enjoy your stay”, the captain said. “Let me know if I can do anything for you.”

“We will.” Yang gave him a lovely smile and the captain finally turned around and left.

“You’re funny when you’re mad at someone”, Mercury whispered.

“I’m not mad at him, I just don’t want him to get wrong ideas. Also you can stop groping my butt now.”

“Do I have to? I mean I just wanted to be realistic, if I was married to you I would never let go of your butt.”

“As if anything would stop you anyway.” She rolled her eyes and turned around to look at the sunset again. She didn’t mind and he knew that. They had been with each other long enough to learn about each other’s boundaries.

“So… what if we find her?”, Mercury asked after a while. “Alive, I mean.”

A cold shiver ran down her spine. She stared at the horizon. It was almost dark now. “What do you mean?”

“You haven’t talked in… how long?”

Yang shrugged. “So?”

“Come on. I can see how much it bothers you.”

“It’s just… Blake told me all these things and I didn’t want to listen. I mean maybe she was right and maybe she was the only person who refused to just let me do my thing, but I… you know, I’m not stupid, I know that maybe it’s not smart what I’m doing, but… it’s hard.”

He sighed and she felt his hand on her back, his lips on her temple. She closed her eyes for a moment. “You should just talk to her.”

“If she even wants to talk to me.”

“You’re too harsh on yourself.”

“Says the assassin without morals.” She leaned her head against his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her.

“When you have a crappy childhood you kinda deserve it.”

She looked at him and he raised his eyebrows before he looked away a bit too quickly. During all the years they had been seeing each other he had only talked about his childhood a couple of times. He always tried to seem like he didn’t care but she knew it still haunted him. She knew about his nightmares, even though she never said anything when groaned in his sleep and pulled her closer when he finally woke up.

“Well, you chose a rightful path”, Yang said. “Now you’re a noble huntsman and follow the law.”

He shrugged. “Everything to impress my wife.”

She shook her head and leaned her forehead against his chest. The truth was that she didn’t really know why he had chosen this path. He could have run away, she had expected him to, but he didn’t. One day she had to get the answer out of him. But not today. She looked up, laid her hand on his cheek and turned his face so he had to look at her. “That’s why I married you.” Maybe their marriage was a lie, but her kiss was honest. She was pretty sure he could feel that.


End file.
